*Police Rescue 11 NYSC Members

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Gunmen have killed the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman of Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, Hon. Ishaq Yunusa, and abducted another occupant of his vehicle, barely a day after armed men attacked travellers on another highway in the state and kidnapped passengers, most of them National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.

Yunusa was killed at about 5pm on Thursday, August 27, 2026, along the Itobe–Ochadamu Expressway, around Ojuwo Olijo in Ofu Local Government Area.

The Kogi State Police Command confirmed the attack through its Public Relations Officer, ASP Afusat Saliu, who said armed assailants emerged from the surrounding bush and opened fire on motorists.

According to Saliu, a blue Toyota Corolla with registration number GWA 636 CH was later found abandoned along the highway.

“The driver, identified as Hon. Ishaq Yunusa, was found dead in the vehicle, while another occupant was taken into the bush by the assailants,” she said.

The police said Yunusa’s remains had been evacuated to Grimard Hospital, Anyigba, for autopsy, while security personnel were deployed to the surrounding forests to locate the abducted passenger and apprehend the attackers.

The Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, CP Naziru Bello Kankarofi, ordered sustained security operations along the affected corridor and directed personnel to pursue the perpetrators.

The latest killing came a day after gunmen attacked travellers along the Aloma–Egane Expressway in Ofu LGA, where they reportedly blocked two buses around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, at about 4:40pm on Wednesday, August 26.

The attackers abducted some passengers, while others escaped into the surrounding bush, according to the police.

Security operatives subsequently recovered a white Peace Mass Transit Hummer bus and a yellow 18-seater bus before launching a search of the forest.

Police spokesperson Saliu said the operation resulted in the rescue of 11 abducted victims, including the drivers of the two buses.

She added that preliminary debriefing showed that most of those rescued were NYSC members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja after their orientation programme.

“Preliminary debriefing indicates that most of the rescued victims are NYSC members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja,” Saliu said.